1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses and image forming systems.
2. Related Art
Image forming apparatuses including an image forming section for forming an image and a document reading section for reading a document by successively shifting the reading position are well known. Such an image forming apparatus has a plurality of functions such as a scanner function, a printer function, and a copy function, for example, and is also called as a multi-function printing apparatus (MFP apparatus).
In such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to operate the document reading section concurrently with the image forming section, so as to allow concurrent performance of the plurality of functions (see JP-A-2001-334648).
Incidentally, the image forming section may vibrate when the image forming section performs a certain operation. When the document reading section carries out an operation for reading a document concurrently with the certain operation, the vibration may be transferred to the document reading section, and reading of the document may not be properly performed.
In order to solve the aforementioned problem, a countermeasure has been proposed in which the image forming apparatus is controlled not to start the certain operation of the image forming section until reading of the document is finished. However, when such a countermeasure is adopted, the start of the image forming operation is delayed, which prevents an operator such as a user from immediately obtaining a medium (paper, etc.) on which an image is formed.
Further, as regards the time required from when the operator instructs the apparatus to read a document to when the reading is finished and the time required from when the operator instructs the apparatus to perform image formation to when the operator obtains a medium (paper, etc.) on which an image is formed, the former case often takes more time (in case of a high reading resolution, etc.). Therefore, it is more likely that the operator feels irritated in cases where the time for the latter case becomes long than in cases where the time for the former case becomes long. Accordingly, considering this point, it is required to shorten the time for the latter case as much as possible.